Julia Eccleshare's picture book choice

Friday 5 June 2009 19.01 EDT
First published on Friday 5 June 2009 19.01 EDT

The Grump

Sarah Garson (Andersen Press, £10.99). Age: 3+

A domestic comedy wittily exploring a child's night-time fears, The Grump also captures the kind of disturbance familiar to families with small children. Waking early in the morning, the child hears the scary Grump and bravely sets out to find out what it can be. Following the giant footsteps they discover a mess in the bathroom, chaos in the kitchen and finally uncover the not-so-scary Grump asleep on the sofa. Sarah Garson's boldly drawn but detailed and comforting illustrations bring the home to life, providing a safe place to explore fears of an intruder.

It's a Secret!

John Burningham (Walker Books, £11.99). Age: 3+

Gently allowing readers to share the secret of the cat's night out, John Burningham creates a wonderfully tender world, sketched in softly drawn outline and brightly coloured spreads. Along with Marie Elaine and Norman (below), two children who "get small" and join the cats, it is the easiest thing in the world to be drawn into this dreamy adventure and to return exhilarated and exhausted from a trip to a party and a meeting with the Queen of the Cats.

What's In Store?

Shopping! Love it or loathe it, in its busy pages What's In Store? gives every possible take on all kinds of shopping. Jo-Jo's family set out to buy all they need for her birthday. And there are others shopping too. The Wicked Witch is looking for a tasty child for her tea; crash landing his spacecraft in the car park, the Alien is searching for Splongdinger; parking their coach and with Cinderella riding outside, the Ugly Sisters are after ball gowns while Father Christmas, as might be expected, is armed with a long and varied list. From entrance to check out, with inventive page layouts crammed with as much action as possible, the shopping storylines are hectically unravelled to their happy or - in the case of the Witch - unhappy conclusions.